The sorting of mail is a very complex, time-consuming task. In general, the sorting of mail is processed though many stages, including back end processes, which sort or sequence the mail in delivery order sequence for each carrier route. These processes can either be manual or automated, depending on the mail sorting facility, the type of mail to be sorted such as packages, flats, letters and the like. A host of other factors may also contribute to the automation of the mail sorting, from budgetary concerns to modernization initiatives to access to appropriate technologies to a host of other factors.
Most modern facilities have taken major steps toward automation by the implementation of a number of technologies. These technologies include, amongst others, letter sorters, parcel sorters, advanced tray conveyors, flat sorters and the like. As a result of these developments, postal facilities have become quite automated over the years, considerably reducing overhead costs.
In one type of automated process, a two pass automated process may be used for sequencing mail pieces in delivery order for each carrier route. Using mail pieces as an illustrative example, the mail pieces are first provided in random order. In the first pass, the mail pieces are separated into groups by delivery point (i.e., specific sets of carrier routes), but in no specific order or sequence. In further passes, the groups of the mail pieces are sorted into a delivery sequence order.
By way of one specific example, in a first pass, directions are assigned to a set of delivery points. Taking four directions with 16 delivery points as an example, a first pass may assign the following directions to each delivery point as follows:
Direction #115913Direction #2261014Direction #3371115Direction #4481216That is, in the 1st row (direction 1) there are delivery points for 1, 5, 9 and 13. In the 2nd row, (direction 2) there are delivery points for 2, 6, 10 and 14. In the 3rd row (direction 3), there are delivery points for 3, 7, 11 and 15. Lastly, in the 4th row (direction 4), there are delivery points for 4, 8, 12 and 16.
However, these sets of delivery points are only grouped according to carrier route, but are not in a delivery sequence, i.e., in any particular order or sequence within that group. To properly sequence the mail pieces in delivery order, a second pass or sorting process must be performed on the mail pieces. In doing so, it is possible to reassign the delivery points to the directions in the following manner, for example,
Direction #11234Direction #25678Direction #39101112Direction #413141516Now, after second pass, each direction includes a sequenced set of delivery points. That is, direction 1 includes a sequenced order of delivery points for 1, 2, 3 and 4. Direction 2 includes a sequenced order of delivery points for 5, 6, 7, and 8. Direction 3 includes a sequenced order of delivery points for 9, 10, 11 and 12. Lastly, direction 4 includes a sequenced order of delivery points for 13, 14, 15 and 16.
To complicate matters in the sorting processes, currently 100% of the flat mail is manually sorted to delivery point sequence, which is a very time consuming and labor-intensive process. This means that it is also necessary to manually sequence the letters and flats, when intermixing these products. In addition, current processing operations cannot efficiently sort late arriving mail. At best, the late arriving mail is received at the regional level and receives only a quick automatic sort to zone level. As such, late-arriving mail can only be sorted to the destination post office, where it is manually sorted to the carrier level. This manual sorting takes 2 to 3 hours each delivery day per carrier, multiplied by 300,000 carriers nationwide.
The invention is directed to overcoming one or more of the problems as set forth above.